Living Local on the Flathead

May My Favorite

2010-05-12T22:15:00.007-06:00

Oh May! My favorite time of the year here. Finally the flowers bloom and the plants start their fast and furious reproductive sprints. I find myself walking circles around the house over and over again, checking and double checking every plant possible for signs of sudden growth. What an exhilirating time of year!

Yesterday it struck me, though, that besides the inherent beauty of a lush landscape, every effort I make, every plant discovery that excites me, every future dream I build - all of that somehow revolves around my passion for food. Good food. Real food. Not the kind of stale produce we can pluck from the grocery store, certainly not the ubiquitous nausea of corn syrup or obscure frankensteinian corn additives, not even the tasty treat of a tired day restaurant dinner. Nope, I'm talking the kind of food that bursts in your mouth in an explosion of colorful flavors, the kind of food that only can come from lovingly tended soil, the kind that withers within minutes of disturbing. Oh, food, glorious food. There is something almost magical about growing or making one's own food. Knowing the cycles of life and nutrients that produced whatever amazing chemical reactions that might briefly caress the tongue. Knowing the honest cost of the bite. Perhaps its the knowing that really instills the savoring. Regardless, taking a snip of spring terragon here and a tip of new garlic green there, something inspiring transpires: the quest for flavor drives all the labor and time and thought and makes it all worthwhile.

Parmesan Ice Cream

Finally we have our raw cow's milk. Fresh cream... ohhh nothing better! Above is pictured one of my favorite uses for cream - Parmesan (actually Asiago in this case) "Ice Cream" with snipped fresh rosemary and garlic. Smooth as butter and absolutely addicting! Here's a recipe:

Parmesan Ice Cream

Ingredients: 2:1 ratio of high quality block parmesan cheese to cream.

garlic, thinly sliced, to taste

a sprinkle of nutmeg

freshly ground black pepper to taste

sprigs of fresh rosemary

Warm cream, garlic slices and nutmeg til boiling. Meanwhile, grate cheese. Turn cream mix to very low. Add cheese and stir continuously until smooth. Mix in cracked pepper and rosemary if desired. Temper at room temperature then refridgerate. Spread on fresh bread.

This can be scooped with an ice cream scoop to resemble french vanilla ice cream. Try drizzling with a reduced balsamic and everyone will swear its vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce. Its a good trick to play on an unsuspecting dinner guest. :)

"comb cling"

Now... the bees. They arrived 8 days ago in fantastic condition from an overnight plane trip from California. I allowed them to accustom themselves to their very new queen for another 24 hours before hiving them. Hiving went well enough - the weather was far more cooperative than last year, and everyone settled in quickly and calmly. I placed both organic sugar water and the package feeding can within the hive, then checked feed levels once during the following week. They did not eat much. I think the later hiving time (May rather than April like last year) probably gave them more opportunities to gather wild nectar and pollen.

Today was my first real hive check. I did not observe the queen, but was surprised to find a fairly large comb with nectar and EGGS already constructed. Unfortunately, it was hanging diagonally off the still attached queen cage. Obviously the queen is there somewhere, and becoming prolific at that, but the comb had to be detached and the queen cage removed. I placed the comb at the bottom of the hive in the hope the bees will know what to do with it and will start building comb in the appropriate places - off the topbars! They did have good "comb clings" hanging off multiple bars, so I suspect next week there will be more order - well, human order - to the hive.

The serviceberries are once again in full bloom... the entire hillside is smothered in their white blooms... there is no other sight quite like it.

Spring Business

2010-04-11T21:53:00.003-06:00

April is here and suddenly there is not enough time to do everything that needs doing! The days are mostly dreary and cold, but on those rare sunny ones, out come the shovels, the rake, the pick ax, the hoses, the seeds, the transplants, the dreams!

The old garden overwintered with its layers of straw, chicken manure, leaves, woodashes (too many perhaps!), and other half composted materials. It truly is inspiring to see how improved the soil is after breaking down its winter blanket. There is a blackness beginning, the rocks and pebbles are less glaringly obvious, and the worms - oh! the worms! I can gather up the soil and feel the beginning of a rich humus potential, feel a glimpse of that soft, dark, nutrient rich mix after which organic gardeners strive - the holy grail of gardens. Time and carbon based materials... someday I WILL have that perfect soil... each plant species lovingly tended with just the right pH, just the right mix of nitrogen and phosporous and potash and microbes... It'll just take a whole stinkin' lot of time.

Then there is the "new garden" - probably forever affixed to that title - that has provided plenty of sweat making opportunities for me this spring. The New Garden began on a very sunny southerly slope, unfortunately all river rock, knapweed and crabgrass with a sprinkling of root-entangled chokecherries. The pickax, manure, grass clippings, plus an entire truckload of compost came together to create a reasonable first year garden. After raiding my dad's yard, I returned home with millions (well, not really) of strawberry starts, boysenberry canes, and raspberry canes that easily filled half the new space. The rest of the garden will be used to plant my tomatos, peppers, basil and cucumbers - I need that sunny space!

Three simple transplant species would never be enough from dad's gardens, so I also brought home gooseberry bushes and rhubarbs (one of each in the picture above), wild roses, horseradish, mints, oregano, and an ancient sage that are now scattered slapdash about the unfenced yard, just daring those ever-rankling deer to BITE THIS and get a mouthful of thorns or overpowering flavor.

The fruit trees (like this pipestone plum) are beginning to awaken also, their buds swelling as a reminder that it is already too late to prune. Maybe next year I'll make it on time!

Finally, observing the swelling buds, I think about blooms which inevitably leads to thoughts of honeybees. I have debated mightily this year about taking on another hive after last year's loss. However, I have been extraordinarily blessed by people who want to help during this time and have offered their practical services (such as installing the electric fence), so my mind was made up - the package is ordered and my carniolan bees will arrive in early May. Carniolans, which originated in the Northern Balkans, Slovenia and the Caucasians are typically more cold-hardy than Italians, so I thought they would be a good breed with which to begin another hive. I would love to try Russians, but need a little more experience under my belt before taking this newer breed on, plus, I wonder how cold hardy they truly will be after now being bred in Lousiana. That one is a challenge that must wait til next year. One thing is certain - I will learn indefinitely - there is no way to know it all or even really to begin to touch the surface... gardens, bees, life - its always full of new and wonderously exciting adventures!

Life Returns

2010-03-17T22:26:00.004-06:00

Another garden location... never too many, right?

Life is returning this broad river valley, pushing the quiet, gray winter higher and higher up into the mountains. It is good to have this time at this time...

What so recently looked like this...

Now hosts this... beautiful baby spinach greens unfurling from under last autumn's fallen leaves.

The old sorrel - a gift of goodwill from an old (and, might I add, very nature savvy) neighbor up the river - has become young again...

It almost became memory as I began pickaxing my newest garden area but for its reddish-tipped leaves. Oh, sorrel! I am so glad you are so early to emerge! The southern exposed sorrel is my harbinger of spring - I will look for it each year around the time the white swans return to the gray slough across the river, the time when the old snow drifts by the compost pile have nearly disappeared in their grime, just before the tinge of green begins in the most southernly of the grass yard. Sorrel and its distinctive puckering oxalic acid flavor remind me that those fresh, real garden flavors are shortly on their way...

And I am oh so ready.

Military Wife

2010-01-30T21:40:00.002-07:00

Lots of moving...Moving...Moving...
Moving far from home...
Moving two cars, three kids and one dog...all riding with HER of course.
Moving sofas to basements because they won't go in THIS house;
Moving curtains that won't fit;
Moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours.
Moving away from friends;
Moving toward new friends;
Moving her most important luggage: her trunk full of memories.

Often waiting...Waiting...Waiting...
Waiting for housing.
Waiting for orders.
Waiting for deployments.
Waiting for phone calls.
Waiting for reunions.
Waiting for the new curtains to arrive.
Waiting for him to come home,
For dinner...AGAIN!

They call her 'Military Dependent', but she knows better:
She is fiercely In-Dependent.
She can balance a check book;
Handle the yard work;
Fix a noisy toilet;
Bury the family pet...
She is intimately familiar with drywall anchors and toggle bolts.
She can file the taxes;
Sell a house;
Buy a car;
Or set up a move........all with ONE Power of Attorney.
She welcomes neighbors that don't welcome her.
She reinvents her career with every PCS;
Locates a house in the desert, The Arctic, Or the deep south.
And learns to call them all 'home'.
She MAKES them all home.

Military Wives are somewhat hasty...They leap into:
Decorating,
Leadership,
Volunteering,
Career alternatives,
Churches,
And friendships.
They don't have 15 years to get to know people.
Their roots are short but flexible.
They plant annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come after them.
Military Wives quickly learn to value each other:
They connect over coffee,
Rely on the spouse network,
Accept offers of friendship and favors.
Record addresses in pencil...

Military Wives have a common bond:
The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands; his commitment is unique.
He doesn't have a 'JOB'
He has a 'MISSION' that he can't just decide to quit...
He's on-call for his country 24/7.
But for her, he's the most unreliable guy in town!
His language is foreign
TDY
PCS
OPR
SOS
ACC
BDU
ACU
BAR
CIB
TAD
And so, a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his.
She is the long- distance link to keep them informed;the glue that holds them together.
A Military Wife has her moments:
She wants to wring his neck;
Dye his uniform pink;
Refuse to move to Siberia;
But she pulls herself together.
ive her a few days,
A travel brochure,
A long hot bath,
A pledge to the flag,
A wedding picture,
And she goes.
She packs.
She moves.
She follows.
Why?What for?How come?
You may think it is because she has lost her mind.
But actually it is because she has lost her heart.
It was stolen from her by a man,
Who puts duty first,
Who longs to deploy,
Who salutes the flag,
And whose boots in the doorway remind her that as long as he is her Military Husband,
She will remain his military wife.
And would have it no other way.

--Author Unknown

New Year Sunshine

2010-01-06T10:34:00.004-07:00

One thing that never fails to bring January Joy: January Sun!

Sometimes spirits drop this time of year, when the inversion grays are constantly assaulting us with their ubiquity, when the world seems to suddenly have become a black and white television screen. January makes summer seem like a dream - a colorful, sunny dream filled with bright fresh vegetables and fruits, filled with health and vitality - so unlike the pale light and bland stored vegetables that fill these days. Its easy to start feeling pessimistic. Then dawns a day like this one... painfully frozen, but energizingly beautiful... reminding me of the sun to come. I better get started on my garden plans!

Dawn through the Gateway - the valley still frozen in night

The Sun Appears over Columbia Mountain...

Filling the Valley with Happiness

Sparkles Through the Railing

Captured Summer Sun... Rhubarb Jam

Montana Christmas

2009-12-30T10:05:00.003-07:00

Christmas in Montana:

A reflective collection of soft, somber grays...

The Flathead River and Columbia Mountain

Clear, piercing blues...

the road to Essex

Frozen moons and brilliant whites.

hovering around zero - frostbite skiing

Then at last... a warm explosion of light and color!

Oh Christmas Tree!

What a beautiful time of celebration and love...

Merry Christmas to All

A Reminder

2009-12-17T09:56:00.004-07:00

So I've been watching CNN at the gym lately. There have been several news stories regarding the effect of military deployments on the children left at home. Yeah, probably not the best stories to be watching on this end of J's deployment! One of the biggest points made was that is IS affecting, particularily for three categories of kids: teens, girls, and reservists/families away from military bases. We've got two out of three covered - at least we don't have a teenager! The incidence of anxiety and depression skyrockets in those three groups. Another major factor was the attitude, support and abilities of the parent at home running the daily ins and outs of life. Wow - that hit me like a ton of bricks! So much of my children's success and mental well being is related to how positive I can make this experience for them. Hmmm... that got me thinking... What are some ways to keep this light hearted, positive, even... dare I think... fun?

Here are some ideas:

1. I've decided that when I talk about the deployment, I couch things in positive terms. Such as, Daddy is leaving to mobilize, but we get to see him in less than two months after that - that's no time!

2. We get to go back to California where Kara was born for an extended vacation to visit him before he deploys overseas.

3. Summer will be here and we'll take trips, visit family and friends, and do a lot of fun summer things. Then the school year will be full of activities and exciting learning.

summer garden

4. We'll grow another beautiful, productive garden.

5. We will see Grandma and Grandpa alot (hopefully).

6. We will get a webcam to talk/see Daddy daily online.

Other ideas?

My son recently grasped the reality of a deployment for the first time. He said, "What? Where is Dad going?" He wondered why dad would be leaving us for so long, and I was put on the spot to answer that question. I told him, "Jaegar, your dad would stay here if there was any way he could, but he serves our country to protect us - his family - and the rest of the people around us. We can be proud that Daddy is such a good man, does his job so well, and loves us so much. He'll be back before you know it, and then we'll have a big party!" Jaegar seemed satisfied enough with that answer, and was on to the next topic. Daddy is not abandoning us, he's serving us... and that is something I want to reiterate to our children daily.

A New Season

2009-12-16T10:00:00.006-07:00

Morning moonset over Big Mountain from our front yard

Well, its been a long time. After the loss of the entire hive last June, I kinda gave up bee blogging, as that was the primary focus of this blog. However, I've decided to shift gears a little, just for the current era, and focus on our life as we prepare for my husband's deployment and our consequent life left behind. I've debated this for awhile, and concluded that this is local living at its best or worst or most realistic or something... just with a little different, world conscience twist. I imagine this as carthartic - there are so many thoughts and experiences occurring even now, months beforehand - for me, personally, it will be valuable to be able to look back at this journey, and see that it really wasn't so overwhelming after all.

And here they are... my sweet military family

Barack Obama announced recently that 30,000 additional troops will be arriving in Afghanistan this year to support the surge needed to eventually turn the country back over to itself. This has profound consequences for many of us in the United States, and my family is one drop in the bucket of affected lives, not really unique, but a story nonetheless.

Its not like we are new to the deployment experience... we've done this twice before. J was in Japan, Guam and had plenty of close calls in Iraq. We've weathered guiding our child through daddy's absence. We've had the hurried, sad goodbyes and the glorious, almost surreal returns. However, this time is entirely different. In the past J was active duty, and there was a support system of other military families undergoing the same event. It was more normal, if that's even possible. I was able to move back to my hometown and have the support of my family loving and encouraging and simply keeping the loneliness at bay. Now we are an island, a reserve military family in a sea of civilians - no comrads in war, no family to depend upon. It can be a harrowing thought. Alas, I'm reminded that we really have it so good - our blessings are overflowing! I'm not a single mother, struggling to make ends meet - God bless those women! - we're not really alone. Perhaps part of this experience is a lesson for me, a lesson in empathy for the widows and orphans of the world... Let me embrace that, and be thankful for the trials in life. I love the Bible verse: "...Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope..." (Romans 5:3-4). The suffering is not really suffering after all...

Oh Christmas Tree!

Now we try to accomodate J's increasingly busy schedule. His phone conferences and weekends away, his three plus week FEX, his full time civilian job on top of that, and the stresses that he bears with such dignity, despite nights of waking up for hours with racing thoughts, despite missing out on the slow simple things. There is no better person to hold his position... he is a leader and will serve us all to the highest standard. I love you, J.

The Arrival of Summer

2009-07-01T22:38:00.006-06:00

A note of thanks to everyone's kind words and helpful insights regarding my unfortunate hive loss... There is such kindness in the world...

There is a magical thing occurring. Warmth, long lingering light, everything alive and growing.

Summer in the Flathead.

I have spent so much time outdoors that I find it difficult to sit at this computer. But the beauty of the evening enticed me into, at the very least, viewing my photos. So now here I sit and remember and wait with growing anticipation for the coming morning...

The kitchen window - first the white serviceberry blooms, then the white chokecherry blooms, now the white mock orange blooms... the beautiful white succession.

Baby Kajsa enjoying summer in the yard

A summer evening panorama

The garden... so many salads, so much broccoli, so many spinach and turnip greens frozen away for the winter... now turnips, cabbage and even a beet!

He sits there, on one of his two main perches, framed by the heavy firs and mock orange and glacial blue river... I realize I love it here... I have the vast blessing to live here.

I am content.

Catastrophe

2009-06-11T21:54:00.002-06:00

Catastrophe. Destruction. Devastation.

It all looks so idyllic. It has taken me a whole 24 hours plus to ready myself to blog about the incident. Yesterday, I made my rounds as usual... observing new garden growth, shaking my head at my tomatoes and their disappointing blight of some kind, smelling the hillside's herbs and flowers, then noticing something I couldn't quite place... down the hill, something askew, something off... something... oh the drop in my stomach at the slow realization, at the immensity of what was already impossible to undo. no... a quiet whisper... My dad happened to be in town, and I quickly nursed the baby, handed her and my son over to grandpa, suited up and headed down the hill.

The sinking feeling overcame me... I momentarily wanted to run, didn't want to face the gruesome reality. But the moment passed and I methodically prepared to confront the carnage. Nothing, not a thing I could do now but survey and salvage as much as possible, if possible.

It was obviously a bear. Not just any bear - THE bear. The same albino blackbear that loitered here last year, that strewed the neighbor's garbage about several weeks ago. I know this only because it came back late again in the afternoon, to lick up the scraps I suppose, and my dog gave me ample warning in growls. I ran out and yelled that mangey, yellowish, LARGE (much larger than last year) creature back down the slope.

To confront such a loss is so disheartening, so sad. So many bees lost. Every single topbar scraped clean of comb. The remaining comb pieces scattered about baking in the hot June sun, the young larvae and new emerging bees already dried and shriveling. I couldn't believe the efficiency of the ants. A steady line of ants were carrying eggs, larvae, dead workers out and away, cleaning up the scene before I even knew it existed.

I carefully picked up each small fragment of comb, searched with a small glimmer of hope for the queen and placed them back in the hive. One by one. Most comb simply gone. The few bees still alive were scooped up, and gently lowered into the hive. They were so disorganized, so frenzied, so angry. I cannot even count how many stingers were on my clothes, how many bees I witnessed dying on me as I tried to rescue them. The once gentle bees fighting with their lives...

I never found the queen. I'm fairly certain she is in the belly of the albino bear.

Well, this is life in its most natural sense. I have learned so much through this process... the biggest lesson being PUT UP A WILDLIFE EXCLUSION FENCE IN BEAR COUNTRY. Its up now, thanks to my husband. Its up and ready for another colony. I will check the survivors tomorrow. Check to see if there is any sign of cohesion, any sign I could possibly requeen them this late in the game, despite the complete absence of comb, despite the great stress, despite the minimal number of bees... there is always hope, even in the greatest of losses. I know... its only bees... but the lessons are applicable in all realms, and I am strangely thankful for that.

Evening Diversions

2009-06-05T22:12:00.008-06:00

There is an odd feel to the air tonight, to last night. A moon rose veiled by a smokey-thin red cloud cover - no fire, no smoke in sight. The wind howled lowly, constantly through the fir boughs and cottonwood branches, bending the birches across the river into one uniform, uncomfortable southwest angle. There is a jitter in the air, like the energizing O3 increase before a thunderstorm, but I don't sense that kind of storm. Typically my half amputated middle toe lets me know when a storm is coming... its true what they say... "I can feel it in my bones", in my case, my toe bone that's no longer there... but not tonight. Tonight its something different... and I like it.

New Comb

I checked the hive again yesterday. Not a lot new to muse over this week. The seventh bar has been built upon - new translucent pale-cream comb, so different from the brilliant yellow dandelion comb of the early spring. Still beautiful, just in a new way, a more peaceful, angelic way. I am noticing one anomaly that may prove difficult in the future: the bees built a double comb on the sixth topbar, knocking off the spacing ease of the first five. I almost destroyed comb between the sixth and seventh bar before I noticed that the seventh bar also has two combs... hmmmm... at least its straight comb, not wavily attached to multiple bars. I should still be able to remove and access future topbars... I hope.

Good Brood Capping The old combs are darkening from yellow to gold to swarthy sunflower to dazzling dirt. They are FULL of larva, capped brood, drone cells and new eggs. One thing is certain, Flower knows how to reproduce!

The final object of writing interest this evening: Garden salads. Yes, those greens I longed for for months, dreamed of during the long whiteness of winter, thought of which I would never tire... those greens. They are just beginning to overwhelm me. We have been eating salads every day since that first exhilirating salad last week, and the salad keeps on coming. I've given several bags of greens away, but they're reproducing like rabbits, or, well, bees. Tomorrow I am harvesting spinach and possibly turnip greens to freeze, then probably will be compelled to eat yet another salad for dinner. So many salads, so few salad permutations. Tonight I got creative with what was hiding in my kitchen... here's a blanket recipe for tonight's salad - a little different, a little more exciting:

Tonight's Thai Shrimp Salad

1 can coconut milk (though I think ideally coconut cream)
a couple Tblsp brown sugar
quartered button mushrooms
fish sauce to taste
Curry paste or a garlicky seasoning to taste

Bring to low boil, cook mushrooms. Add
Shrimp
Cook until shrimp are pink and add juice of
one lime
and a handful of bean thread noodles or rice noodles

Add to Salad:
Garden greens
thinly sliced Green Onion
thinly sliced onion or shallots
thinly sliced hot pepper (serrano in my case)
thinly sliced lemon grass (if you have it on hand)
peanuts or cashews
about one inch finely grated ginger
fresh mint leaves
fresh cilantro
water chestnuts

Basically anything in your kitchen that sounds good... :) Enjoy!

Chaos Versus Cleanliness

2009-06-02T22:17:00.004-06:00

The Progressing Garden

I've got to admit, I'm a dichotomy. Maybe everyone is, really. There is a part of me that appreciates structure, yet a more pronounced part that yields to the chaotic. You won't find perfectly rowed monocultured vegetables in my garden, instead a cacophony of interplanting companions... a dash of herb there, and splash of mustard here. That's my dad rearing up in me... his garden has always been a resplendant display of gently organized wildness. I also love writing music... not just writing music - feeling music onto those straight staff lines... letting it ebb and flow in its own meandering mode. Maybe that's why I find myself drawn to the undeveloped - the natural so often... there is more intense beauty there than in any clean line I've ever seen... My chaotic side is the most prevalent... perhaps more so because I married an engineer? We naturally balance eachother's stronger attributes? We subconsciously fulfill a piece of a the whole?

A Beautiful Broccoli Beginning

However, overarching all the espressive chaos, I DO savor orderliness - the structure of a day, a week, a season. There's a time and a place and reason for all those events we base our lives upon. The time to plant, the time to rest, the time of the last frost, the time of the first frost, the time to get my daughter up for school, the time to read our bedtime books, the time to learn, the time to share, the time for noise, the time for quiet. All the little times working together to form a life... all purposeful, all divined. I am so happy to experience it all, to be able to express both aspects.

Chaos in the Peas

Proper Pepper Propping... Perfect!

Order... Chaos... What DOES tend to incite my order analities is my desire for a clean house - I get that from my mom... her structure and cleanliness kept us kids healthy, well loved, safe. Her home was, still is, unabashedly clean. I relish the feel of fresh shining floors under my feet, of smooth white bathtub walls, of sparkling stainless steel kitchen sinks, not even a streak of mineral deposit or grease... I may not have all the paperwork filed away, all the little piles of this and that in their proper places, but, darn it, my house is scum free!

Super Shine!

I make my own cleaners - I have since my daughter was a baby seven years ago. I just can't stomach the thought of any extra chemicals assaulting young cells. Here are my cleaner recipes... they work just as well as the toxics, if not better!

Baking Soda Scour Paste: baking soda mixed with just enough liquid soap to create a thick paste, plus a couple drops tea tree oil

Disinfectant Spray, Window Wash, Multipurpose Cleaner, Wood/Tile Floor Cleaner: white vinegar plus 6-8 drops tea tree oil per small bottle

Wood Polisher: 1:1 ratio white vinegar to olive oil

Well, enough of this random post! :)

Hives and Produce

2009-05-29T08:42:00.005-06:00

Inspecting for the Queen

How glad I am! For the last week, anxiety has welled up at the thought I may have inadvertantly swatted the queen away last inspection. After reviewing the queen photos and noticing her long black shape, I recalled swatting a long skinny wasp-looking thing away from last week's comb. Was it the queen?! Could I have been so flippant? Waiting, waiting, waiting to find out... then, on this inspection I saw plenty of new eggs, capped brood, larva, no new queen cells - all good signs of queen health. Finally, I found Flower yet again, diligently poking in and out of the cells. Phew! The anxieties of a beekeeper once more relieved!

A Followerboard Comb

The bees have built this bedraggled looking comb once again on the first followerboard. I pried it off last week in the hopes they'd build only upon the bars, but its back. I'm not sure what the purpose is, as it is accessible by only one side, not uniform in shape at all, and storing only nectar. I decided I'd leave it be now... it must be a food store at least.

The rest of the combs look good - definitely progressing appropriately. There are now six fully built combs, with a seventh beginning. The sixth bar holds a new find - a double comb full of either nectar or honey... I'm too inexperienced yet to differentiate. I am hoping this doubled up comb does not create difficulties in later comb spacing but left it alone for the time being. My interference does not seem to help much, rather hinder - the bees know their comb building much better than me!

Double Comb

Yesterday was a day of the new. New gardens planted, new plants sprouting, new food. My son and I planted the summer garden... lets see... cucumbers, crooknecks, zucchinis, butternut squash, pole beans, bush beans, more tomato and peppers, basil, dill, marigolds, nasturtiums, sunflowers, my celery seedlings (started months ago), corn, some more mesclun mix. Then we harvested a delicious salad for dinner - FINALLY! The salad was a mix of spinach, mustard, little tiny radishes, young turnip leaves, mesclun mix, lettuce, green onion, chive, terragon, lemon mint, and some purple leafy plant my dad previously scattered about. It was... flavorful!

First Garden Salad of the Year

The sun has been shining with an increased intensity lately - it makes me feel joy and ambition, and it seems to incite similar attitudes in the garden. Each day I watch as new things appear and old things advance... potatoes are sprouting all over the place, spinach leaves double in size nearly daily, peas are now able to be trellised... oh, and weeds are finally threatening their mass usurpation. No worries there, however - I just can't seem to stay away long enough to let the weeds abound. I find myself drawn out there morning, noon and night. Drawn out to wander, poke around, beg and plead new seeds into sprouts, nibble older things here and there... My kids are just as enticed by the greenery and know nearly every plant by name and taste and danger level (no potato leaves, kids!). The thrill at seeing one of our honeybees alighted upon a tomato leaf! The titillation of a spicy mustard leaf upon the tongue! Its all so sensory, it has to somehow advance young brain development.

The Finished Salad
A few additions - tomato, cheese, garbanzo beans and leftover chicken, and the salad was a complete meal!

Hive Inspection II

2009-05-18T17:07:00.005-06:00

Serviceberry Blooms = Happy Bees

It is springtime... warm, shorts, bare feet springtime. Suddenly everything has awakened. Stubbornly slow leaves now unfurl in an afternoon. Cherry blossoms appear one day and bloom the next. The whole slope down to the river is covered in thousands... millions! of white serviceberry flowers, all arriving within the last couple days. I walk back to the garden and am happily assaulted by a sweet, fruity fragrance that must be savored... it will only last a moment til something new will take its place. Its so intoxicating I could walk circles around our house all evening. The bees must smell it too - they are actively pursuing the spring show, and (for this week anyway) are healthy and happy.

Comb Number 1

I inspected the hive Sunday afternoon to find five topbars with well developed comb and a sixth bar comb beginning. The eggs have progressed, and some areas are capped. There are new eggs in all the comb, more nectar stores, more pollen stores too. I am venturing a guess - I think the five combs are the brood comb, and honey comb will begin soon on the other bars. These bees have a lot of work cut out for them - not only feeding themselves, but feeding and raising brood, collecting extra food, and making wax combs. All this entails adequate food stores (even wax - its a by product of digestion), so this warm blooming weather is vastly appreciated.

Some capped brood, nectar and pollen

I found her! (look for the green dot)

The kids and I voted: my son's suggestion wins - the queen's name is Flower. This inspection, I wanted not only to find evidence, but to find Flower herself. On the third bar I saw it! The green that shouldn't be there in all of that yellow and brown and black. My eyes immediately made out the long thin shape surrounding the green dot and realized Flower was there crawling about the comb, fulfilling her lifelong baby making duty. She darted (and that's not an exaggeration - she was quick) around the comb so I had to carefully shift hands and turn the bar to watch her. I observed the workers almost piling upon her, protecting her from my prying eyes. Is this normal queen threat behavior? I decided to quickly return the bar to the hive lest I lose my most prized bee, so Queen Flower was plunged back into the safety of the dark before the hive became too stressed.

Comb I pried off the first follower board. No brood, just food.

Images of Spring III

2009-05-15T22:06:00.003-06:00

Indian paintbrush

One of the bees landed here, 100s of yards from the house

The neighbor's cherry trees

Images of Spring II

2009-05-15T21:57:00.005-06:00

The Flowers, The River

My oldest daughter watches ruby throated hummingbirds dance in the young serviceberry blooms

She decides to reach for the highest flower and take a picture at the same time

Images of Spring

2009-05-15T21:45:00.003-06:00

Dandelions in the Lawn

My daughter found these mushrooms growing in the manure pile

Borage from the strawberry patch

My hail-battered spinach

The perfect compliment to a spring salad... still waiting

This and That This Afternoon

2009-05-13T18:10:00.003-06:00

Busy Bees

The weather minimally cleared this afternoon, enough that the bees were out and about. Watching the hive entrance is a social studies/science lesson in itself. There are bees flying in and out at a continuous pace, with about one fourth of those incoming full of pollen. Pollen pollen bright pollen - mostly yellows and orange, and stuffing back leg pollen sacks to the brim. Some bees seem so heavy they appear clumsy - almost like maneuvering an overloaded cargo plane into a tiny terminal. They are relentless in the quest for food.

Springtime at the House

The green is beautiful... a soft framework around harsh angles. It makes me want to roll down a hill and eat garden chives.

A Plastic Garden

It would seem plastic is inevitable for a successful Flathead garden. My broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage seedlings - so spindly from their indoor plantings - have enjoyed their own personal milk jug greenhouses for the past couple weeks. They were anorexic seedlings when I transplanted them, but now are bulking up and flexing their strong leafy muscles.

The cold frame in the background is rebar, 6 mm plastic and some old PVC tubing... pretty simple. I did transplant two tomatoes - two that were starting to look pretty rootbound themselves - to see if my cold frame experiment will work so early in the season. After the transplant I had a sudden surge of tomato empathy and ran into the house, microwaved a bowl of water, shoveled some woodstove coals, and gently poured both amongst the two plants. We'll see what happens!

This and That This Morning

2009-05-13T17:49:00.006-06:00

The Jungle on My Table

My poor tomatoes. They were planted (unwisely I might add) in mid February and now have taken over my dining room table. I've replanted them several times in makeshift newspaper planters, but they are more than ready to get outdoors. I am experimenting with a cold frame of sorts (more on that later). Two unlucky (or hopefully lucky) tomatoes will meet their experimental fate there today.

April Showers, May... Fires?

Another cold day... I suppose I have to indulge in three favorite wintertime staples - fire and coffee and newspaper...

The BEST coffee - isn't it wonderful, Flathead friends?

Hmmm... sweet Montana Nothing...

Alive and Thriving

2009-05-11T21:41:00.007-06:00

Planting an orchard under a rainbow

Spring has sprung. Yep, no doubt about that. We have had a wonderfully busy few days soaking up the warming sunshine, planting cherries, plums, pears, apples, hazelnuts and even peaches (intrepid - good to a zone four!). My broccoli, cauliflower and cabbages are all nicely laid out in the garden. The final summer garden spading was completed and a cold frame is in the works. I have been pleasantly surprised by the blooms occuring on our hillside - serviceberries are slowly awakening, small chokecherries are preparing for their bloom, fairybells, wild strawberries, shooting stars, oregon grapes... and so many more are all flowering at last. The ginger scented arnica leaves share the rocky hillside with patches of nearly bloomed lupine and wild onions... I love seeing all this new life surrounding me. However, there are those that are more thrilled than I with all of these blooming wonders...

Beautiful Comb up Close

We made the first hive inspection on Sunday... Mother's Day... to finally observe if the queen was fulfilling her mothering duties. I was terribly nervous, despite having watched the busy bee business nearly every day, despite having witnessed their voracious sugar syrup appetites. I just didn't know for sure... But... what wonders! What a gift to gently lift the first topbar and see the beautiful, brilliant yellow comb hanging in a perfect curve, carefully attended to by the workers and filling up with pollen, nectar (or sugar syrup) and... EGGS. The evidence of the great mother among them. Though we did not find the queen this go around, we were pleasantly surprised to find five topbars with comb, to see the orange and yellow pollens coming in, to feel the docility of a harmoniously working colony.

A Topbar in the Sky

The comb's color was another unexpected surprise. The softest, newest comb with the most vibrant lemon yellow tint... from all of the dandelion pollen? We marveled at both the color and the engineering of comb. Holding the comb up against the sunlight, my husband - an engineer himself - immediately noticed the perfectly balanced structure of each cell... how the backside cells were aligned exactly halfway between the front cells, perfectly overlapping for optimal structural soundness. What intelligence! What design! And to think it all happens without (or despite) our superior human help...

Sarah holds a piece of comb I cut off

Compost, Glorious Compost

2009-05-05T09:17:00.010-06:00

Evening Gardens Love Compost

I have a love hate relationship with compost. It all began when I was just an itty-bitty, probably two or three years old. There was something magical about the compost pile... old egg shells, rotten vegetables that were there one day and gone the next, worms, and even the occasional squash plant on steroids - or, well, compost. It drew me in for a closer look. One evening I was drawn in a little too far, wanted to experience it a little too closely, and my brother found me in the middle of the pile with a half-composted orange peel hanging from my mouth. Needless to say, I was sicker than worth remembering that night.

Fast forward a few years... the memories of after-dinner clean ups, pink skies, maybe a mosquito or two... then -horrors!- the command, "Anna, go dump the compost". I would approach that container of kitchen waste (usually an old Schwan's Ice Cream bucket), and be utterly nauseated by the smell. Subconscious memories of my days as a compost eater would return with a vengeance and threaten to take hold again. But chores must be done, no matter how challenging. There was no excuse, and I would venture way out back to the pile only to be greeted with more of that smell. I vowed never to compost when I was a grown up.

Fast forward to adulthood. Living in various locales where composting wasn't really an option made me realize how wasteful it was to not. I slowly began considering the merits of the pile, despite the smell, and a quiet longing to compost began to take hold. When we finally arrived at this point in life, where such a thing is an option, I find compost almost magical again. No worries - I don't intend to dive in, but in a sense I am eating it once more. That lovely black dirt is slowly substituting for the local rocky "soil", and my vegetables love it. We can mix it up with rotted manure and plant our trees there - to great success. I can sprinkle it in the "dog spots" in the grass, throw down some seed and there we go! It has a multitude of uses for feeding our plants, and ultimately our family... now I just wish I had more!

My son Jaegar and a new cherry tree to be planted in... you guessed it!

Getting settled...

2009-05-05T08:44:00.004-06:00

Sunny Day Flying

It has been one week since our little ladies' installation. I have to contain myself and not harass them everyday - they need the time and space to get established in their new home. However, it is quite fascinating to walk down over the bank of the hill, balance precariously on the rocky glacial til soil (can I even call it soil?!), and simply observe a sunny day hive. The bees bustle about with a purpose beyond my comprehending, as busy as bees so they say. I have yet to notice any pollen on the bees, but I'm hoping they are finding it in all their foraging. The bees will eat, and more importantly, feed their young the protein rich pollen. There are currently no synthetic pollens available that can remotely compare to the real thing, so I have to trust the land will provide. And it will... pollen for the bees, pollination for the plants... such a lovely symbiotic relationship.

The sugar water supplement in hive box, separated from main hive by a follower board

I do check almost daily the level of sugar syrup the bees have consumed. Because there is so little nectar available yet, I am supplementing with a 1:1 ratio of organic sugar dissolved (but not boiled - that can cause bee dysentary) in water. If they survive the winter, I would like to forego this next year, and allow them to feed on their own honey instead. But for now, being newbees, they seem mighty appreciative and have been consuming nearly a jarful a day!

Bees clinging to a topbar

I have checked the main hive several times - only lifting one topbar off each visit. I am amazed by the cohesive clinging ability of these girls! They link legs and hang in this pattern, most likely beginning to build comb so their queen can begin her egg laying. I fret - I don't see any comb! what if they build comb over multiple bars? what if this cold weather permanently weakens them? what if the queen has flown away?! - but I realize these bees are in far more capable hands than mine... their creator's and their own.

Hiving the Bees II

2009-04-28T22:26:00.008-06:00

The package is opened

After hanging the queen cage, we jostle, as gently as possible, the bees into the opened hive. They fall out in great clumps and masses but seem calm nonetheless.

The bees in their new home

After most bees are in the hive, we replace the top bars and let them orient themselves to their new world. They will mark this location in their collective conscienceness and always return here, despite foraging up to four miles away.

Two entrances plugged with grass, the main entrance already guarded

Even now, moments after their disorderly arrival, the bees begin their ceaseless working. We hold our breath and are greeted by the softest humming sound - a gentle whirring that could lull even a seasoned insomniac to dreams. The bees are buzzing - vibrating their wings like thousands of hummingbirds - to circulate the queen's pheromones throughout their new home which gives each individual her place in the colony. The work will end only when she -the worker -is worked to death - about 30 days. By the time these workers die, the queen will have (hopefully) mated, laid new workers, and the hive will be well on its way to permanent establishment.

Sarah demonstrating the calm of a beekeeper

Hiving the Bees

2009-04-28T21:02:00.017-06:00

The chill is in the air, the snow is on the ground, the bees are mellow, we're all set... then... WOOSH! The wind begins to blow... and blow... and BLOW. The biting wind will not give up and we are forced to hold off on the hiving. My yard looks like a logging operation came through and forgot the mop up. No trees were felled, but enough branches, needles and cones were scattered about, I wondered. The bees cannot keep waiting in their cage for this weather to cooperate. The anxiety of the last two days is reminiscent of the days before birthing a baby - will my babies survive? can they be safely born into this new world with so much chaos raging around them? When will it finally be the right time?

Then this evening, just as furiously as they arrived, the winds receded, and we all knew the time is now.

Sarah and I prepare the hive for the honeybee package

(the small box on top of the hive)

The honeybees are delivered in a three pound caged package. There are thousands of bees in the package - mostly female workers, a few male drones, and one precious queen in her own special queencage. The queen is the focus that binds the colony together, without her, the colony would cease to be a working unit.

The queencage hanging from a topbar

We inspect the queen, take out the cork to her cage opening, then fill it with "candy" the workers will eventually eat through to free her. In the meantime, her cage is hung from a topbar and her sweet pheromones are released, chemically bonding the colony together in one of the most miraculous displays of organization in nature.

The Top Bar Hive

2009-04-27T08:33:00.006-06:00

Jarrod's masterpiece

So here we are, the top bar hive is completed (the roof is on the ground to the left), and my husband is proud of his carpentry skills. The journey from the here to now -the day the bees arrive- has been both exciting and nerve-wracking. To step into the world of the apiarist fills me with butterflies, but here we go, bees.

Jarrod holds one top bar with the strip of beeswax in place, ready for the comb building to begin

The decision to begin this journey hiving the bees top bar vice the traditional "white box" langstroth was an easy one for me. Having never raised bees, but learning of the many diseases, parasites and problems they now face - ever heard of colony collapse disorder? - I felt letting the bees create their own comb and essentially their own hive was a style best suited to my ideals. It is all a grand experiment, will take time, and may not always be successful. Over time, however, I hope to learn the subtle expressions of the colony, to enable the best suited bees to strengthen naturally, and one day have several healthy bee colonies that may just share with me some of their hard earned honey. Cut comb honey anyone?

A hive with a view

We positioned the top bar hive with its three entrances facing southeast, allowing the warm, early sun to motivate the bees first thing in the morning. To the north, a steep, rocky slope protects the hive from bitter northeasterlies. To the west, a large twisted serviceberry provides protection from the southwesterlies that pummel us with the occasional thunderstorm. The legs of the hive are partially buried in the rocks to stabilize and level the hive. Bees naturally build comb according to gravity, so if I want straight comb, the hive needs to be level. The hive is elevated off the ground, so mice/skunks/etc. shouldn't be a problem. I'll watch for ants, but my biggest concern is bears. Winnie the Pooh is a real problem here in Montana... I'll share some honey, Pooh, just be gentle on my bees.

2009-04-24T14:30:00.001-06:00

serviceberry in the spring

2009-04-23T21:26:00.002-06:00

After finishing the dishes and packing tomorrow's lunches, I was offered the rare chance to wander solo (well, not completely solo... my thrilled dog accompanied me) outside this evening. With the kids happily curled up with Daddy inside, I meandered down the trail to check on our lower river property. What beauty there is even now! At first glance, the woods appeared the same weary, bleak branches I've watched all winter. Then something catches the eye... like a haze or a faint smoke... a tinge of green that makes one look twice. Suddenly, the whole forest is speckled with tiny green buds... the most gentle green the woods will ever sport. But that's not all. Dusting the green buds and the bare branches is a mist of white snow so minimal it deceives the mind into thinking the forest is just a shade brighter, despite the swirling darkness of the evening clouds. Its a teasing preview to the white show of serviceberry and mock orange blooms to come... There is so much to be seen when I just look twice.

The river is running high now. The snow from the mountains obviously melted quickly during the recent warm days and has now created an angry brown force that threatens to take down any weakened tree daring too close to the banks. I'll keep my distance. I check the old rhubarb my dad gave me two years ago before the house was built. I planted it down near the river under some large cottonwoods that seemed stable and protecting. That rhubarb has been cultivated for probably 80 years - it came from my Norweigen great-grandparents' North Dakota farm - and now its finally growing free and wild in the woods... and it is thriving! I wasn't sure after something (a deer?) tore it up last summer right before I was going to put it in a pie, but now I know it is a survivor. Its amazing how life clings and comes back year after year.

I am awed by what I have seen this evening. I hope everyone has the chance to go outside solo and look twice...

2009-04-23T14:49:00.001-06:00

The Promise of Spring

I Begin in April

2009-04-23T13:36:00.002-06:00

I have to thank my friend Sarah for this foray into blogging. Actually, I have to thank Sarah for many inspirations - beekeeping, local Montana living, a partner in running. Its so comforting to have friends who hold dear the same things as me, who inspire me with their genuine kindness, encouragement and grace. These people are invaluable and add that sprinkle of happiness to the world -they make us better people.

It is late April. My cheeks still sport a slight pink tinge from my first sunburn of the season - Monday was actually high 70s hot! The sunburn is keeping me warm on this cold, low 30s SNOWY Montana spring Thursday. Yes, springtime is a fickle thing here in the Flathead. It teases us with its elusive warm sun... the nurseries and gardens are bustling on those rare days... only to find themselves lonely and windswept the next, possibly even with another dusting of snow. I can recall living in Southern California and longing for the inclement weather of my childhood, longing to long for the sun. Now - the longing is strong and pulsing and gets me as giddy as a schoolgirl at the prospect of another nice day. That's what makes life so wonderful, right? The longing, the anticipation, the appreciation for the new.

And new is coming! My spring garden was planted 10 days ago. Already mesclun, mustard, onions, garlic and radishs emerge. Every time its like a miracle - the miraculous emergence! I don't really believe it can happen, then - look kids! - there's a seedling! Somehow life begins again all on its own, and our collective breath is taken away. I look around outside the garden at the new irises and serviceberry leaves, the dandelions and lilacs and even the greening lawn, and I want to shout out in amazement, I want to drag anyone I can find outside and say, "Look! How can it be?! The green has actually returned!"

Ah, so much promise and optimism. It is a good time, and I am invigorated. Now, we finish the top bar bee hive and await our Monday arrival of bees, all the while checking in on the strawberry and asparagus transplants and the many new seedlings of this early Montana spring.